Burying The Bat'leth

Posted on Sat Feb 11th, 2023 @ 10:15pm by Lieutenant Sturgis O'Connell & Lieutenant Xavier Leiko

Mission: Character Development
Location: CEO's Office
1163 words - 2.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Xavier couldn't shake the feeling he was being a bit unfair. Finn was gone and he had to accept that. O'Connell was here now and he had to accept that too. In truth, the new Chief Engineer had done nothing wrong, he had just accepted a posting on one of the best ships in the fleet, who wouldn't? It wasn't his fault that he wasn't Finn and it definitely wasn't his fault that she had left with nothing but a lousy message.

The pair had always had a good working relationship, as all chief engineers and chief of operations should have. They really were the backbone of any starship, and without that collaboration, things could go south fast. So Xavier decided to bury the bat'leth and put his own feelings to one side. He stepped into the office to find the man working at his desk. "I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

Sturgis looked up to see a man he had been meaning to formally introduce himself to. "Never," he hopped up from his chair and extended a hand. "I'm glad you stopped by, I've been meaning to get down to ops myself. It's Lieutenant Leiko, right?"

"Please call me Xavier," he said as he accepted the handshake. "I should have introduced myself at the meeting but it was a lot to take in. How are you finding the Athena? Settling in okay?" He asked as friendly as he could muster.

"As well as I could hope to," the man nodded. "In truth, I do miss my family, but other than that I've found the adjustment rather pleasant. Engineering seems to be running like a well-oiled machine without much effort from me and most of the crew in the department seem quite capable. I suppose I couldn't ask for more," Sturgis paused and smiled. His eyes revealed something between a mix of subdued excitement and confidence. "Can I get you something to drink? I'm a bourbon drinker myself when I'm not drinking water. Strictly synthohol of course unless it's after hours."

"Of course," Xavier repeated with a cheeky smile. "I'll have an Andorian Iced Rum, two fingers please. So where are your family now?" He asked as the engineer went over to the replicator.

Sturgis set the rum on his desk in front of the ops officer and then sat in his own chair, bourbon in hand. He leaned back in the chair with a sigh. "They're aboard the Yorktown. Full transparency, I accepted this position to give my wife some space. We've...grown apart more recently. I'm hoping to eventually repair that, but only time will tell. In the meantime, I've been enjoying it here. She's a beautiful ship." He raised his glass in a toast before sipping on the bourbon. "How about you? Any family?"

"She's beautiful," Xavier said before he could help himself. He held up his hand in an apologetic gesture, "sorry, Betazoid," he offered as an explanation. Even though moments like this were embarrassing, reading people's thoughts without any kind of control, like he were a child again, he had to admit it felt amazing being in someone's head again.

Xavier held up his glass in the toast and then took a sip of the blueish-green drink. He savoured as the cold liquid ran down his throat, remembering to only exhale once he was sure his mouth was empty. Not bad for synthohol. "I don't have a husband or kids. Maybe a good thing in our line of work."

"You might be right, but I've found my family to only make life better. Different strokes for different folks though I suppose," he smiled. "I hate to move straight to business, but I would like to talk to you about our departments. Anything you know of that I should be aware of about engineering?"

Xavier nodded as he sat up straighter in his chair and placed the glass on the desk. "I don't believe so," he said, more business-like than before. "The previous CEO ran a tight ship and didn't stand for nonsense. Like most departments, it has its characters, but nothing I'm sure you can't handle. Have you worked with most of them now?"

"I have," Strugis replied. "Everyone has their quirks, but my only real concern at the moment is Ensign Fenn. Do you know of him? My first impression wasn't what I would have hoped for so I looked up his record and he seems to have a knack for getting into trouble."

Of course the new CEO already had an issue with Tey. "He's a great engineer but he doesn't quite fit into the ideal Starfleet model," Xavier said. "Finn kept him on a short tractor beam, but maybe you'll have a different approach that works for you. If you want my advice? Connect with him on a personal level, somehow. Or just chuck him in the brig," he added with a grin.

"How about chucking him to ops?" Sturgis asked, with no hint of humor in his voice or expression. Fenn was talented, but keeping him focused was a real chore. "I know he's a propulsion specialist, but he's always bored. Ops offers a wider variety of work, work that I think he would excel at."

Xavier laughed until he realised that Sturgis wasn't. This guy had only been aboard a few days and he was already trying to get rid of Tey, what the hell did the Trill do now? "Not possible," Xavier said after clearing his throat, all hint of humour gone from his tone. "I have no room in Ops for Teyo."

Sturgis smirked for just a split second. Fascinated by just how quickly the chief of ops had shut down his idea of a transfer. He quickly straightened his shoulders back out and shrugged. "Suit yourself then and please don't think I was just trying to pawn him off on you because he's a little trouble. I just thought his talents might be an asset to the ops department. I'm sure we'll find the right knack for his skills somewhere in engineering." He smiled and lifted his glass. "Cheers to our future, working together."

Xavier studied the man in front of him, wishing that his telepathy was back to full strength. Unfortunately, he was still fighting that particular battle and could only sense a few surface thoughts, nowhere near enough to get to the depth he wanted to right now. He reminded himself to not play a game of poker with O'Connell anytime soon. The words he said, the actions he did, and the tone he used were all at odds with each other, and the Betazed wasn't skilled enough to decipher his meaning without his missing gifts.

Xavier eventually raised his glass and smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Here, here. And don't forget, the brig is still an option for Teyo," he joked before taking another sip.